Jedi Angel001: Thanks for that. I'm glad I got Maul's position across. There is more to explore with this dynamic, and I can't wait to get back to it once I figure out how to write it!
No45: Wow, I'm really flattered that you signed up to FF just to review. And I know what you mean about getting the short chapters, I'm working on that, and I think the last couple have been about the right length. I also see your point about getting back to the action, there's been some personal stuff I wanted to get through, but now the action should pick up again. Trust me!
Obi-wan woke up with a start again for the fourth night in a row. All his dreams ended the same way, with Asajj's face looming large, frightened and hurting. There had been no further contact from Qui-Gon, only these haunting nightmares about his former adversary and he knew he had to do something about it quickly, she was fading fast wherever she was. He stood up and moved to the centre of the room where he sat cross legged and breathed deeply to calm himself and shake off the feelings of abandonment and fear that the dreams always left him with. After two more cleansing breaths he opened himself to the force, feeling its flow circling around him and through him. He reached out, searching for the now familiar twisted flow of Asajj that the dream still held and he tried once again to trace it back to its source. Every night he had tried this and failed, but there was something more urgent about this particular dream that had him determined to find the dark acolyte before it was too late.
In the back of his mind were the two conversations he had had on the subject, one with Boba yesterday and the other with Dooku this last evening.
"You really are crazy, aren't you?" Boba had exclaimed as Ben had explained his dream and the need to find Ventress. "The woman is evil, I'll admit I didn't see that until the hangar, but it's pretty obvious to me now!" The boy deftly dodged a blow from Ben's training pike as they sparred in one of the training rooms in Dooku's palace. Having recovered from his injuries and finding both he and Boba filled with a nervous energy that radiated around the building, Obi-Wan had decided to continue to draw Boba away from his recent memories by focusing the lad on physical exercise. He found the boy to be exceedingly adept and graceful with his aggressive moves, but lacking in refined defensive ones and began instructing Boba in more successful techniques of self defense. While they sparred they often talked about various things, but this was the first time Asajj's name had come up. Now Ben was regretting confiding in his young associate.
"Well, we have already established my lack of sanity during our acquaintance, but she's in trouble, I just know it and I think I can do something about it. And you did ask me to be honest with you, or had you forgotten that little pledge?" He swung up again at Boba, trying to drive the lad back to the other side of the mats. He had quickly been able to slip back into suppressing his force abilities as he had for his Naboo recruits and he rather enjoyed the purely physical challenge of keeping the boy at bay. Boba was able to duck under another swing and tried to sweep his stick under Ben's defenses, but Obi stepped over the strike and back to smack the pike to the floor.
"Nice try," he said with a wry smile, lifting the pike with his own and tossing it back to Boba's waiting grip. "Besides, I don't get the impression that she's all evil, just misguided."
"Misguided? The freak show has tried to impale you with a lightsabre in every encounter she's had with you!" Boba circled the former Jedi cautiously, assessing the situation before him before making his move to attack again.
"True," Ben replied, studying Boba's movements to see where the next attack would come from, "but she had been under the influence of Maul for some time and I'm guessing that's not an environment for cozy Java Juice by the fire!"
"No, we get back to the impaling thing, which I think everyone wants to avoid, right?" He clipped the tip of Ben's pike, causing it to rise slightly as he swung the other end around, Ben's pike quickly swishing down to block it and push away, sending Boba back a few steps. "And you remember your promise," said the boy waving his stick at Ben accusingly, "you said you'd help me free my brothers, right?"
This time it was Ben who clipped Boba's pike. "I do remember, Boba, and I intend to, as I promised, but Ventress is in immediate danger and if I don't do something soon, it will be over for her, I just know it."
"Good riddance," said Boba under his breath as he readied for another assault, but Ben held up his pike to stop the bout.
"You speak of what you do not understand, young one. " said Ben, suddenly sounding more like Qui-Gon than himself. He shook it off but continued his harsh stare at the startled boy. "I'll not abandon a fellow tortured soul when I can feel the anguish pouring forth like a gieser. I thought you of all people would understand that."
Boba had hung his head and Ben had felt terrible as he realized what that had brought to Boba's mind. He went over to the boy and rested his hand on his shoulder. He often forgot how young the boy was, his easy manner and obvious physical agility and knowledge making him appear far more mature than he actually was. The revelation of who Boba actually was reminded him that the child was, practically speaking, only five years old unlike the original Boba who had been born without the accelerated growth gene his fellow brothers had. Having sensed the memory transfer Maul had performed in the hangar, it had not been difficult to see how the Sith lord had simply moved the original Boba's memories and experiences to this new host. It had made him shudder to think of the way these clones were so easily manipulated and transformed, and along with the physical training regime, he had begun to show Boba rudimentary techniques to shield his mind from further invasive attacks. Remembering how easily the Sith lord had slipped into his own consciousness after their battle on Geonosis, and the fact that Boba was no force sensitive, he wasn't sure how successful those techniques would be against a powerful force user like Maul, but they would give Boba a fighting chance at least.
"I'm set on this, Boba," he said quietly, kneeling in front of his friend. "Once I have a lead I'll be leaving," Boba looked up in horror, "but I'll surely need the best pilot I've ever seen by my side, if he's not too busy swinging training pikes around!"
"I don't like it," Boba admitted, clearly relieved Ben wasn't thinking of leaving him behind, "but you do get yourself into a heck of a lot of trouble when I'm not around!"
"Hey, that was…" Ben paused to ponder Boba's words just long enough to raise a smile from the boy, then he continued with a devilish twinkle in his eye. "Yeah, maybe I should pop a restraining bolt on, just in case of emergencies!"
Obi chuckled to himself remembering his last comment in that conversation. It had been a more uncomfortable experience discussing the matter with Dooku and he breathed deeply, still feeling an uneasiness that crept through his system in recent days with his dealings with the Count.
Dooku had offered to take Boba on in his staff, but even though he wanted to believe Dooku was on the level, Obi definitely didn't like the idea of the impressionable lad being influenced by him, especially after the dream vision with Qui-Gon. Perhaps it was also because of Dooku's own response to Obi's enquiries about Ventress that had only heightened his feelings of apprehension around the Count.
That conversation had been over dinner which the two men enjoyed alone. Boba never felt comfortable around the Count and Obi wasn't about to push the boy into something he didn't want to do, so he had taken to eating his evening meal in their apartment while watching holovids. It also allowed Obi to talk more openly about things he was cautious to bring up around Boba, including the current whereabouts of Maul, which had led to the discussion of Ventress.
"As far as my network informs me, Maul has gone to ground, no one has heard hair nor hide of him since Geonosis," came Dooku's swift reply to Obi's enquiry. "I believe he and his master are keeping hidden to allow this war to diminish all opposition to them. Think on it, my friend, by having the Republic and Separatist movements battling it out, all they have to do is sit back until both sides have worn each other out and the Sith lords can consolidate their control over each group either to combine them, or as I foresee it, to use them in their own end games for each other. Remember, Obi-Wan, the Sith apprentice will seek to over through the Sith master, it is their way as you have witnessed firsthand with Maul's attempted recruitment of you. We cannot underestimate how far these creatures will go to achieve absolute power over each other and they will sacrifice all under them to achieve their goals. Without Ventress or you by his side, Maul has weakened his position and must find allies elsewhere."
"So you know that Ventress has not returned to him?" asked Obi curiously.
"Why should she? She was a failure in his eyes when you so clearly defeated her on Geonosis."
"I did no such thing, I allowed my feelings to cloud every decision I made in that confrontation, from trying to save Padme, to facing off Maul alone. Thank goodness Yoda showed up when he did."
"Ah, you remember that, then?"asked the Count as he continued with his meal.
"Only vaguely," Obi had suddenly lost his appetite, remembering the awful feeling of Maul's dark control seeping over his body and through his limbs and then the sickly ache that had consumed him as his body and Qui-Gon's energies had rejected the darkness, Yoda's pointed ears bobbing up and down as the little troll walked towards him the last clear memory he had from that fight. He desperately wanted to change the subject, so he brought up Asajj again.
"Do you have any idea where Asajj went after she left you?" he asked, studying his Master's master for a reaction. The Count was still keeping something about Ventress from him and Obi was determined to find out what it was.
"I am sorry, my friend, but I have not had news from her since we parted. She asked to be dropped in the Y'Toub System and as I had a transport heading in that direction anyway, I obliged her. And that was the last I heard from her." Obi listened carefully to his words, he wasn't sure why, but there was hidden meaning in everything he said, as though he was admitting only part of the truth. Typical politician, he thought to himself.
"Do you think she was seeking the Hutts?" asked Obi, trying to fathom any reason for wanting to go to that particular sector of space.
"Why all this interest in Ventress? The woman very clearly wishes you harm, she admitted that in no uncertain terms when I went to pick you up."
"I just thought she might know more about Maul's whereabouts, maybe even the identity of this Sith master."
"I assure you, there is nothing useful we can get from Asajj that we can't get from other sources. Forget about her, my friend. Let us concern ourselves with bringing some calm and measured voices to the tables of power in this conflict."
Dooku had proceeded to talk about his plans to run for the Separatist leadership and his plans to remove the current General of the Separatist army from the front lines. Obi had seen the creature Grievous on one of the holonet broadcasts Boba had had on one night and on this Obi had to agree with Dooku that the General was overly aggressive and openly hostile to any criticism or talk of compromise. He was the perfect weapon for the Sith to continue this conflict indefinitely and the fact that he gloated over his obtained four lightsabres from fallen Jedi sickened him. All talk of Ventress had been over at this point but the dream persisted and this last one showed him that things were getting worse.
So, he pushed the conversations from his mind and focused once again on Asajj's signature, trying to trace its current source. He followed the force flow through the palace and out over the planet, remembering Dooku's words about the transport she had taken. He could sense the echo of her presence there at the space port, but even this had felt wrong, somehow, and trying to continue the trace only left him frustrated again when the wisp of a link dissipated. He was running out of time.
Another cleansing breath brought him no comfort, so he lifted himself up and walked outside, the forest swaying gently beneath him. Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps this was a futile mission, just the crazed imaginings of a man who desperately wanted his connection back to his old master and believing this was the only way to that. Why did it have to be Ventress? Why was she his test? He had to admit that her suffering was genuine, he could feel it permeating his system. So why couldn't he follow it, and why such a strong connection to this torment, anyway? Were they really so much alike? What might he have become in her situation, taken on by a Sith lord?
The thought made him shiver out on the veranda. Why should any of that matter right now? She was in pain and he could feel that, and the force was showing him all this for some reason, it had to be to save her, perhaps even redeem her, if that was possible. Qui-Gon had mentioned a blending of the light and the dark, a way to keep the balance through mutual understanding. And it seemed she was the key to begin this understanding. It was worth a shot, if only to be reunited with the warm welcoming glow of Qui-Gon's presence, however briefly.
Unbidden, Qui-Gon's words over Dooku came back to him and he pondered the Count's words on Ventress.
He said he had not had news from her since they parted, as opposed to that he had not had news of her. And she had asked to be dropped in the Y'Toub System, known to any sentient being as Hutt territory, which immediately had Obi feeling tremendously uncomfortable. A long forgotten memory of his encounter with a certain Hutt on the Monument came back to him. This time the shudder was enough to return him indoors. No one would go there willingly, surely? She was desperate he supposed after the Geonisis encounter and perhaps she had allies there, but his force senses were in doubt about that, something was very wrong with the mention of that system. And what business would Dooku even have in that region, he dreaded to think, it seemed completely against character for the Count to be dealing with anyone from that sector of space. The Hutts had something to do with this, he was certain of it all of a sudden and he refocused his attention on Nal Shadda.
Sitting on the floor again to meditate he let his feelings stretch out again, no longer focused on Ventress specifically, but intrigued where the flow of the force would guide him using the direction of the Hutt planet as his reference. It was hard going, this was not something that he was adept at, but he released his hold on the crude matter of his form to allow the force full control of his faculties. For a while he felt himself drifting and swirling around with the flow and was about to give up once again when he felt something, a growing anguish that was reaching out to him but weakening by the second. He dug deeper into himself and the force, no longer aware of anything around him, just focusing on the source of the anguish, knowing his goal was finally achievable. He felt a rush of energy flow to him and pull him to the mind he sort as Ventress used the last of her strength to latch onto the force power she had detected searching for her. She pulled him the rest of the way through the planet's atmosphere, showing him clearly the path he would need to take to get to her and he found his consciousness traveling through the walls of Jabba the Hutt's palace down to the lonely, tainted and demoralizing cell where Asajj lay huddled in on herself, eyes staring out as blank as the wall they looked upon.
"Nothing left.." he heard her breath out and almost immediately the connection was lost and he found himself back in his apartment, the disorientation causing him to topple over. The sun was just rising on the horizon and he blinked a few times to get his bearings and clear his head. The thing that had stunned him the most was the fact that she had not appeared physically hurt. Unfed and slightly dehydrated, but otherwise physically unharmed. It was her mind that had been damaged, a flash of her scraped through thoughts the last thing that remained from the encounter. This was damage only a force user could inflict and it had been clear from the flash that only one mind had been close enough to her recently to perform this kind of torture.
"Dooku,"
He got up and roused Boba.
"I need you up and ready to go in five minutes," he said, perhaps more coldly than he had intended, but their current surroundings were leaving a foul taste in his mouth and he wanted them away as soon as possible, especially before Dooku could find out what he was planning.
Boba got to his feet and shook the sleep from his form, never having seen his friend look so detached before. It was more than a little frightening and he quickly obeyed, heading for the fresher.
Ben was already dressed by the time he exited and with an expression of impatience that had the boy dressed in mere moments. He grabbed an apple from their fruit bowl and tucked into it as Ben motioned for them to leave. The headed out into the hall, but Ben held Boba back as a number of Dooku's people moved about the floor.
"Not that way," he said quietly, still with a dangerous edge to it that Boba was finding uncomfortable, but he was not about to mention that and have the older man glaring at him. So he followed Ben back into the apartment and out onto the Veranda.
"We'll have to go a more scenic route," Ben said as he looked over the edge of the balustrade. Boba's eyes grew large as he remembered his ill fated attempt to climb down the Geonisian landscape.
"Er, Ben, I don't think I can climb down there," he moved to the edge to look down himself at the sheer drop below then. He looked over at Ben who moved closer to him and turned to look back at Boba, his eye suddenly appearing almost purple in the early morning light and his smile giving him a dangerous air.
"Who said anything about climbing," and with that Boba found himself suddenly lifted into the air with great ease, Ben's left arm raised to him, keeping him suspended with the force. He quickly climbed the balustrade, still holding Boba off the floor.
"Wait, wait," gasped Boba, but Ben's gleaming smile was his only response. "Ben?" he asked, panic rising in his chest.
"Breath out, it will be easier," came the unnervingly calm voice again, only this time at least some of the coldness had passed to be replaced with the playful warmth Boba had grown to appreciate the more he heard it coming through his friends words.
Without being able to give it much thought, Boba found himself propelled over the edge of the balcony and he exhaled quickly before gravity took hold and their two bodies began to plummet to the forest floor below.